31 Days of Halloween: Haunted House of the Day

[BrandonDaCollector]

Gosh, I hope all is OK. Well, see more Haunted Houses then

[packerbacker180]

Nah, it wasn't anything serious. I was just too burned out to put the work in for the longer posts.

As a treat, I thought we'd return to Missouri for today's Haunted House of the Day...



Uriah Spray Epperson hired eccentric French architect Horace LaPierre to design the monumental house. Construction on the house began in 1919 and was completed in 1923 at a cost of $450,000 (the equivalent of approximately $1.7 million today). The four-story Tudor-Gothic structure contained 54 rooms, including six bathrooms, elevators, swimming pool, billiard room, barbershop, a custom organ, and a tunnel linking the east and west wings. Tragically, Epperson died four years after its completion.



One of the ghost said to reside there is the ghost of Harriet Evelyn Barse. Barse was an organ student at the Kansas City Conservatory of Music. Uriah and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Weaver Epperson, brought Barse with them when they moved into the house. They referred to her as their adopted daughter, even though no legal adoption occurred. Soon after moving into the home, Barse died on December 20, 1922, of a perforated gall bladder at the age of 47 years, before construction of the organ in the house was completed. She had designed the custom organ for the loft space of the 48-square-foot living room. The organ, built by the Reuter Organ Company of Lawrence, KS, was finally dedicated after a respectable mourning period, on Sunday, November 29, 1925.



The building was donated to the university in 1942 by Epperson's widow. It was used as a men's dormitory until 1956, but is currently vacant and awaiting renovations. Over the years, students and security officers as well as employees have reported seeing Barse’s ghost wearing an evening gown as though dressed for a recital. Some believe that Epperson himself walks the halls as well. On one occasion, two campus police officers were doing a regularly scheduled patrol of the building. Typical of a walk-through, they turned the lights on and off as they scouted the various parts of the house. One light remained lit, and one of the policeman saw a ghostly arm in a blue suit turn off a light. This was believed to be the ghost of Uriah Epperson.



In 1978, campus police were called after witnesses heard footsteps in the empty building. When an officer arrived, he felt a great crash along, with the sound of shattering glass - as if a car had hit him from behind. When he got out to check it out, there was no other car and no damage. However, his car had moved 8 inches... based on skid marks beneath his tires. The mansion was even featured in an episode of Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack though I could find no video of the episode.





Today the Epperson House sits unattended on the outskirts of the University of Kansas City--MIssuori (UKMC) perhaps just waiting for its next purpose or for a chance for its presence to make itself known.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Okay good, I see. Ah, the Epperson House. Yes, that is great you did that PB, you did your homework well Missouri is known for a ton of paranormal & cryptid stuff. I'm not sure but I think that wasn't too far away from where My Grandpa PoPo got Me My great Godzilla 1985 Figure by Imperial from that special Comic Shop he went to in Kansas City, MO It always pains Me that I never really asked the details nor retained it I said to you before how Me & Grandma watched Unsolved Mysteries before but I never did say that My Grandpa really liked Robert Stack too That show was great and had a decent score to it. This was good one Packer

[packerbacker180]

I really only knew of Robert Stack from Unsolved Mysteries and Airplane! I loved UM as a kid. It was must watch TV. I've said before I will still watch episodes now because they update them when cases are solved, so I like to catch updates.

Speaking of updates, here's another Mansion from the gilded past that is in need of modern updates. Oh, and it's also haunted, making it today's Haunted House of the Day!



Pittock Mansion was constructed in 1909 by London-born publisher and business tycoon Henry Pittock as a private residence for himself and his wife, Georgiana. The house was designed by San Francisco architect Edward T. Foulkes.[4] Construction began in 1909, though the house was not completed until 1914. Upon completion, the home featured such luxuries as a central vacuum system, intercoms, indirect lighting, an elevator, and a walk-in refrigerator. The interiors of the mansion were modeled on an eclectic collection of styles, including Jacobean, craftsman, Turkish, ( and French Renaissance (the music room).



Henry Pittock was born in London on March 1, 1835, but he spent most of his childhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he attended preparatory school and worked in his father’s printing business starting at the age of 12. But inspired by stories of western expansion and the frontier, Pittock and his brother joined two other families traveling West and landed “barefoot and without a cent” in Oregon territory in October 1835. He found work as a typesetter for the founder of the weekly Oregonian in Portland, and eventually became the paper’s managing editor. Around this time, Pittock met his wife, Georgiana. They married in 1860. Pittock went on to become one of the wealthiest men in Oregon society as the man behind the city’s major newspaper, and he consequently invested in a variety of industries, including railroads, banking, ranching, and mining.



The forty-six-room mansion was built on a hill overlooking Portland with a French Renaissance exterior. The inside was uniquely designed, with oak-paneled cabinets, marble floors, a huge central staircase, modern amenities like an elevator and dumbwaiter, and — perhaps most strikingly — beautiful views of Mount Hood and the Cascade Mountain Range. Pittock Mansion was completed in 1914 when Georgiana was 68 years old and Henry was 80. Sadly, the couple did not have many years left together to enjoy the home they had built. Georgiana passed away in 1918, just four years after construction was completed, and Henry died the following year. Members of the Pittock family remained in the home for many years, until their grandson, Peter Gantenbein, who had grown up in the house, attempted to sell it in 1958.



The City of Portland officially bought the Pittock Mansion in 1964, and a nonprofit was formed to take responsibility for the upkeep of the house. They spent just over a year repairing and restoring the mansion, and, in 1965, it reopened as the Pittock Mansion Museum. It is open daily to the public for touring. And it is on these tours that many have claimed to encounter inexplicable experiences, perhaps with the late Pittocks themselves.



Visitors to the house have reported seeing windows shutting and latching on their own, the sounds of heavy footsteps, and a portrait of Henry Pittock moving around the house. Tour guides have reported encountering figures when they open the mansion for business in the mornings. Some people say they have smelled the unmistakable scent of roses, Georgiana’s favorite flower. Apparitions of the couple, as well as the heads groundskeeper, have reportedly been seen and felt following visitors as they toured the mansion.



Best this haunted house appears to be one not to fear. Though the Pittocks may not have had long to spend in their mansion in their last years alive, ot would seem that they have spent many years there since, watching over the house, and welcoming guests and making themselves known.

[BrandonDaCollector]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN How about that, I did not know they did that with Unsolved Mysteries and updating them...that's so cool Gosh, I didn't know about Pittock Mansion either, I like that you put all of these pics here to show it...that was a pretty good one there Packer, I like

[packerbacker180]

Happy Halloween!

Well, we already covered a place that would invoke extreme Coulrophobia (fear of clowns), today we'll cover a place that would probably creep out even those people who don't suffer from Pediophobia (no that's not the fear of the 47th US President--Tom), the fear of dolls.



Within the city limits of Mexico City, lies one of the last remnants of the Aztecs. Xochimilco, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a vast network of canals and tiny artificial islands called chinampas, where locals live and grow crops. One such chinampa, deep in the heart of Xochimilco, houses a few small huts, outnumbered by thousands of mutilated, decaying dolls.



It wasn’t known as the Island of the Dolls before Don Julian Barrera moved there in the 1950s, although it earned its name soon after, when dolls mysteriously started to appear. Legend has it that, years before his arrival, a young girl became entangled in the canal’s water lilies and tragically drowned there. Don Julian claimed to have heard the girl screaming from beyond the grave, "I want my doll." Sure enough, near where her body was supposedly found, he found a doll, which he then hung up on a tree as if to make an offering to the young girl’s spirit. Don Julian became both obsessed and haunted by her.



Afterwards, he claimed to discover new dolls strung up from trees every time he went outside. They weren’t all completely intact either; some were decapitated and others dismembered. When Don Julian’s crops failed, he placed more dolls around the island in an effort to appease the young girl’s restless spirit. This macabre shrine became his obsession. Don Julian spent every single day scouring rubbish dumps and fishing in the canals for old, discarded dolls. He even used to trade his vegetables for them.



In 2001, his nephew came to the island to help his uncle. As they fished in the canal, Barrera, then 80, sang passionately, claiming that mermaids in the water were calling for him. The nephew left briefly, and upon his return found Barrera lifeless, face down in the canal, in the same spot where the girl was said to have drowned. Some suggest he met the same fate as her and drowned, whilst others say he had a heart attack. Regardless, many believe his death was caused by the girl’s spirit, which is said to still haunt the island to this day.



Locals claim that the dolls come to life at night, animated by the spirits of the dead. They say the dolls whisper, whistle, move their limbs and turn their heads of their own accord, hoping to lure the unwary to a watery death in the island’s canals. Others say it’s just the wind. Since the island became open to the public, there have been reports of the dolls moving their heads, arms, and opening their eyes. Visitors also claim to have heard the dolls whispering to each other. Visitors occasionally place offerings around the dolls in exchange for miracles and blessings. Some change the clothes of the dolls and maintain the island as a form of worship.



While I don't normally find dolls scary, I will admit some porcelain dolls can look downright creepy. I'm glad my daughter was more into stuffed animals when she was younger.

Other dolls are ones you should just steer clear of altogethe to be safe.



But an island full of broken and discarded dolls? I think I'll pass on ever going there. But it's a fun place to wrap up our Haunted House of the Day thread for this year. I hope anyone reading these enjoyed learning about some paranormal hot spots that might just be in your own backyard. Here's hoping your backyard doesn't look like this!



Happy Halloween!



Sweet dreams!

[BrandonDaCollector]

Well Halloween has come and gone and it was really cool but darn, I can't believe it's over already Gosh, while I know about the Aztecs & Mayans and all that, I never knew this one Good one Packer. All that you did for this Halloween times was superb PB

EDIT: I'm going to keep your Topic going because I just found a playlist by WWE about Haunted Places starting with this

[packerbacker180]

Oh, the St. Augustine Jail is a good spot. I will have to give that a watch. I forgot to reply about Unsolved Mysteries. You can still watch old episodes on FreeVee and Tubi I believe amongst other sites, and with some there will be a few sentences after a segment if there was a break in the case or anything, so I still like trying to catch updates on stuff. It's almost sad when there isn't one after a segment because many of these episodes are over 30 years old.


This ended up being a fun topic, so I'll definitely bring it back next October. I have a couple ideas for Christmas this year, and it only 54 days away!

[BrandonDaCollector]

Yeah see, you never know how a new Topic will be and many times it turns out good This is part of WWE' Chambers of Horrors series. they did a name scenario like Roadblock because Chamber of Horrors was WCW special great match at WCW Halloween Havoc 91 Okay, in case you don't know, Shotzi Blackheart & Scarlett Bordeaux are scary partners for a couple years now doing things like this which really their unlikely spooky babe duo That was also when Rhea & "Dirty Dom" were together during that hot fun time but too bad it's over now Here's the next WWE Haunted special with Drew McInentyre



I hope your liking this. There's 6 left so expect your Topic to continue for about a week longer and besides, haunted places never take a vacation and I love spooky stuff all year long

[BrandonDaCollector]

I'll tell ya what, I'll the save them six for next year during Halloween and maybe WWE will do more too then that way there will be more scary WWE to had for your Topic Packer